Your Right to Know

Gamblers eager to place bets inside an Ohio casino this spring will have to wait longer.

State regulators yesterday put the brakes on plans to open Cleveland and Toledo casinos three
months from now, saying more time is needed to license them because of various delays. The casinos
could open in May or June.

“We’re not going to be pressured into truncating this process,” said Martin Hoke, a member of
the Ohio Casino Control Commission.

Later opening dates mean less revenue for the casinos and local governments counting on casino
taxes, and delayed starting dates for about 2,800 employees expected to work at the two
casinos.

Rock Ohio Caesars wanted to open in Cleveland on March 26 and Penn National Gaming in Toledo on
April 2.

Those always were tentative opening dates, set by the casinos themselves and subject to state
approval.

The state tried to accommodate the casinos’ timelines by doing licensing investigations in four
to five months, yet questions have been raised for months about whether the opening dates were
realistic. Similar probes in other states have typically lasted nine to 18 months.

A consultant hired by the state to review casino license applications recommended yesterday that
the opening dates be pushed back eight weeks — a suggestion that was understood by commission
members.

“This commission has made it absolutely clear there are no guarantees about when these casinos
get opened,” Hoke said. “This does not come at all as a surprise to me. ... This is a train wreck
that I have seen coming for months.”

Fredric Gushin, managing director of Spectrum Gaming Group, the commission’s consultant, blamed
the delays on a number of factors, including legal issues involving whether certain investors in
Penn and Rock had to turn over information to investigators. There also have been delays getting
applications from vendors that will sell slot machines and other equipment to Ohio casinos.

He said the casinos generally have been cooperative in the licensing process. He attributed some
delays to the slow back-and-forth that can come with dealing with large companies.

Commission Chairwoman Jo Ann Davidson said the commission will meet with Cleveland and Toledo
casino officials to discuss a new “window” in which they can expect to open if licensed.

She does not expect delays in when casinos in Columbus and Cincinnati open. The Columbus casino
is shooting for late 2012, and the Cincinnati one is planning a 2013 opening.

Matt Cullen, chief operating officer of Rock Gaming, a parent company of Rock Ohio Caesars, said
the company was disappointed by the news but respected the commission’s diligence addressing the
many tasks that come with allowing casinos for the first time in Ohio. The casinos were authorized
by a 2009 voter-approved constitutional amendment.

“Rock Ohio Caesars will continue to work swiftly and cooperatively with the commission, as it is
critical to solidify timelines and regulatory milestones,” he said in a statement. “We remain
committed to delivering a first-class gaming facility that plays an important role in sparking
tourism while providing needed revenue and local jobs in the Cleveland community.”

A Penn National spokesman declined to comment.

Delays in when casinos open affect not only the casinos’ bottom lines but also local governments
and school districts expecting the additional tax revenue.

Ohio’s 88 counties had estimated they could get $44 million in revenue for the 2012 calendar
year, assuming the Cleveland and Toledo casinos opened as planned.

Larry Long, executive director of the County Commissioners Association of Ohio, said it is too
early to know how much that projection will drop with later opening dates.

“It’s a big concern to us,” he said.

He added, however, that most counties are being conservative and not planning to spend the money
immediately.